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I started a series a few weeks back about the values of our church community. Here at Kfirst, our mission is our passion:  We make it simple for people to find and follow Jesus. And our values guide us towards that goal.

Check out last weeks by clicking on the value statement:

Week 1 – Everyone is Significant.

Week 2 – We are Contributors. 

Week 3 – God Works in Community.

This week…We keep it fun.

Many people struggle with the idea of “church” and “fun” being in the same sentence. If that’s you, it’s most likely because the word “fun” is defined as: a carefree activity with no purpose or meaning. It’s an activity strictly meant to amuse. (the scene from Gladiator comes to mind, “Are you no not entertained?”) 

Honestly, if that is your definition, then I would agree with you; Church shouldn’t be fun. The idea of being something just to amuse is so spectator and consumer driven instead of something participatory and engaging.

But…when I look up the word “fun,” the first word to come up is the word “enjoyable.” With that definition in mind, that I would wholeheartedly say, Church should abso-stinkin-lutely be fun. It doesn’t mean we discount and/or disregard God and his greatness. We don’t treat the presence of God flippantly.  But when encountering Jesus for the first time, I experienced joy like I’ve never known. As I worship, there is a passion that I find in Him. When I engage with the Holy Spirit, there is a joy that floods my soul. It gives me a glimpse of what Jesus was talking about in John 15 when he said, “I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!”

I can legitimately say, church should be fun.  Fun isn’t about something set up to be “attraction” like a circus (Enter “Field of Dreams” line, “if you build it, they will come”). But we should do our best to cultivate an atmosphere in the facility AND an attitude in our hearts that says, “I’m ready to enjoy the presence of God.” We should have full joy being in the presence of God together with our church community. We should walk in full joy when we interact and engage in our communities.  Even when we go through the hardest of times, Jesus told us we can be of “good cheer” because he is able to overcome. Think about this, in the Old Testament, when David was broken internally because of the disaster in his life, what did he pray for in Psalms 51? He wanted the JOY of his salvation back.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have Jesus. And because of that fact…

The Church should be the most joyful people on the planet.

Too many people think church is anything but fun. We’re into changing that. We want Kfirst to be a place where you can encounter Jesus and receive life change that only He can bring. We desire to see you enjoy the presence of the Holy Spirit, that the passion you carry will show the world around you the greatness and goodness of our Savior.

Those who give everything to follow Christ, find everything. And laughter and joy (fun/enjoyment) are part of the ways that God blesses His people.

I love what Reggie Joyner says,

“You can measure the temperature of a church by how much its people laugh.”

We keep it fun.  But, to us, fun isn’t about entertainment for spectators. It’s about enjoying the presence of God as we participate together in worshiping Jesus and serving the world around us.

“Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations,  “The LORD has done great things for them.” The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” (Psalms 126:2-3)